Before you begin
- Records that contain special characters (commas, quotation marks, etc.) can result in corrupted data, and can even cause imports to fail. We suggest doing a test import with only 2 or 3 records to ensure your formatting is correct. To learn more about special characters in import files, see Troubleshooting Imports.
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When importing, any columns that you leave blank will result in blank records, as they are not auto-populated by the CMMS. To prevent unexpected issues, we suggest removing any columns you don’t need to update.
This article will outline some handy tips, tricks & Rules to make the importing process easier than ever.
General importing rules
- The file format is CSV which is easiest to prepare in MS Excel
- “ and ‘ are not seen as feet and inches in computer code, but rather quotation marks.
- Import file type is CSV which means COMMA Separated Variable - If you have commas in your sheet, then you’ll push the data out to subsequent columns
- Try with a sample file first - maybe 5 lines off your CSV import file. If you have an error, you can correct it.
- Split the data into smaller subsets if needed. If you make a mistake, easier to delete
- If you make a mistake, it may be possible to overwrite or update the data
- Auto create new records - Can import certain columns and they will create new records. For example, you can import asset categories on the asset list and the categories will be created if they do not exist
- Watch out for spelling mistakes. For example, you have Drills asset category already in the system and you import your sheet with asset category “drill”, the system will create a new record as in Auto create new records.
- You can comment out the entire cell in later versions of MS Excel. For example, "Torgue Gauge, 30' Handle, 15k ft-lb SN: 816404" would import ok.
Order of operations:
- Create your Custom Fields
- Import users & business if needed
- Import Asset List
- Import Parts
- Import Task Groups
- Import PMs
- Import old Work Orders
Asset import
- Must have an asset name when importing
- Custom Fields on the asset record - they must exist in the system before importing
Parts import
- Must have an asset name when importing
Meters
- You cannot trigger items from the importer. This is to prevent errors. So, cannot import meter readings to trigger PMs.
PM’s
- Not possible to import triggers
- Watch out for nested PM’s - for example, monthly, quarterly and annual on same system. This reduces the number of PMs to manage. These need to be created manually
- You can add the task group when importing. It is easier to add the task group needed for those PM's during the import, rather than configure it manually after.